Trainer Bill Badgett has been fined $3,000 by the N.Y. State Racing and Wagering Board, his assistant and brother Tracy Badgett is suspended for 20 days, and their veterinarian, Dr. Rodney Stewart, was slapped with a $2,500 fine after Badgett’s horse Vagabond Saint tested positive for the drugs Butorphanol, a pain killer, and Xylazine, a sedative, after finishing second in the second race at Aqueduct on April 14.
The positives were the result of apparent mistaken identity. According to the board’s investigation and subsequent stewards’ hearing, Stewart went to treat another horse, but instead the groom brought out Vagabond Saint, who was scheduled to race either that day or the next. Neither Tracy Badgett, who was running the shed row at the time, nor the vet noticed the mistake.
Bill Badgett was out of town when the incident occurred, but he was fined under the trainer responsibility rule. Tracy Badgett’s suspension, originally 45 days, was reduced to 20 when he waived his right to appeal. Vagabond Saint has been disqualified from purse money and unplaced in the order of finish.